Chapter 271: Blood Moon Interference
When the morning sun rose to the sky the next day, Ivan made his way to the training ground where he found Alistair and Tobias practicing. Everyone else had left the moment the sun began to pop up, leaving behind the vampire brothers to face themselves, and Ivan had suspected he’d find them here.
A little curve arched his lips as he watched them in silence, but soon after, his eyebrows pulled together when he noticed Alistair’s hesitancy in striking an attack– he was inexplicably slow, which was odd for someone with inhumane reflexes, and luckily, he wasn’t the only one who seemed to notice it.
"I think we should stop here." Tobias withdrew his sword that was merely inches away from stabbing Alistair in the eye. "You’ve been acting weird these past few days, are you sure you’re alright? Do I need to get a royal physician?"
"I’m fine." Alistair flexed his shoulder joint in an attempt to adjust the bone. "I also think we should stop here as well, my body doesn’t seem to be prepared for practice today. Look, Ivan’s here." He immediately directed Tobias’s attention to Ivan who was making his way down the many steps. The vampire brothers offered him a slight smile, a little surprised to see him here after how many days of missing daily practice.
"Shouldn’t you be dealing with multiple paperworks, what are you doing here?" Alistair asked his cousin. Since Ivan became King, his training no longer happened on a daily basis, so it was normal for them to question his presence, most especially after knowing he had a lot on his plate today.
"I was in the mood for some sparring, are you two done, or are you going again?" He switched glances between both of them.
"Alistair is having issues with his body, he can’t train today, I’ll spar with you instead." Tobias brushed his brother aside to reach for a sword which he tossed at Ivan to catch. Alistair rolled his eyes at his brother and said,
"I’m not having issues, I feel overworked, like I did something strenuous with my body without knowing what." Complained Alistair as he stretched once more.
"How many rounds did you go with that concubine last night?" Questioned Tobias, and it made Alistair subconsciously stiffen. Ignoring his brother’s reaction, Tobias heartlessly went further to expose to Ivan, "he sucked himself up with a few drinks and woke up naked in a bed belonging to one of the concubines. If Father finds out about this scandal, he’d be receiving another lash in the punishment room, I believe Alistair deliberately draws himself to suffering."
"Hey!"
"He’s not wrong, you drink like an idiot sometimes." Ivan supported Tobias, and Alistair could almost hear his heart shatter at their duo comeback. Mumbling a few irritated words, he walked out on both of them.